Rising from a set-back base, the limestone shaft is topped by a black and
white stepped pyramid top, decorared with triangle themes in a gilded
facing. The ex-Fuller Co. headquarters in the upper floors have single
balconies on three sides.
The 6-storey base differs in appearance from the upper facade with the
trimmed black granite facing and windows reminiscent of Art Nouveau. The
entrance is through a tall, three-storey portal with a sculptural clock by
Edie Nadelman, depicting construction workers and the city skyline.
The lobby floor has decorative themes in form of medallions representing
buildings built by the Fuller Company. Following the theme, decorated
bronze-panelled elevator doors depict different building trades.

This tower was the second 'Fuller
Building' in New York. The first one is better known as the Flatiron
Building.
The lobby has mosaic floors with ornamental and decorative themes similar
to the building logo medallion.
The lower 12 floors of the building were designed especially for art
galleries with their high ceilings.
The top of the tower is built in high Art Deco style with zigzags, stars,
and sun-like patterns.

In 1929, as the Great Depression soured the city's outlook, the first
skyscraper north of mid-Manhattan was completed. Built for a giant
construction firm, the Fuller Building was a 42-story Art Deco trophy at
57th Street and Madison Avenue.

The building, with its ziggurat crown, dominated its corner for decades,
but now it appears upstaged by such younger neighbors as I. M. Pei's
52-story hotel, the Four Seasons New York.

So Vornado Realty Trust, the landlord since 1999, has developed a
controversial plan to jazz up the landmark with space-age glass. The design,
by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, would replace a two-story transom in the
doorway with a scrim of electronic glass that changes from opaque to
transparent, revealing a curtain of diodes that change color like the Empire
State Building at night. The lobby would get a similar treatment, with a new
skin of special glass lining the ceiling.

"Our proposed renovation, which does not alter the building's historic
fabric, is intended to brighten this celebrated landmark and enhance its
utility," said Steven Rubenstein, a Vornado spokesman.

But the plan has its critics. Simeon Bankoff, executive director of the
Historic Districts Council, called the proposal "an admittedly clever but
inherently trite scheme that literally overshadows the significant and
protected features of this building."

Others, such as Glen Leiner, vice present of the Art Deco Society of New
York, say the overlay will tarnish one of the city's best examples of Art
Deco.

The plan was reviewed last month at the Landmarks Preservation Commission
and another hearing is to be held Tuesday. "There were a number of questions
raised," said Sherida E. Paulsen, the chairwoman. "You really want to know
why this proposed change is appropriate."